The Norwell boys and girls track teams have had quite a spring season in their own respective ways.

Staff Reporter

Middle distance runner and senior captain Jeremiah Wilson has seen the Norwell boys track team come a long way since freshman year.

“We’re better than we’ve been the past couple years,” he said. “We have a bunch of good kids in all sets of events. It helps in dual meets because we can score points across a number of events. And we’ve had more than usual qualify for states.”

Wilson, who captains the team with fellow seniors Aaron Hartford and Jeff Ames, gave credit to the underclassmen in helping the team succeed this season and also noted the guidance of former coach Matt Lantier.

The Norwell boys gained immediate momentum, and the younger kids got a confidence boost right away when the Clippers beat South Shore League title contenders Mashpee by one point in the season-opening meet. It came down to the final relay, which Norwell won behind the effort of Wilson, Ames, sophomore Kevin O’Driscoll, and freshman Brady Bailey.

Wilson noted the efforts of O’Driscoll this season in the 800 and sophomore Jonathan Petit in the 400, pointing out that the younger kids are shattering times he set as an underclassman. Wilson also gave a lot of credit to freshman Ethan Wu, a distance runner who came to prominence this past fall, scoring points for a relatively young cross country team.

“We’ve got a lot of cross country kids on the team this year,” Wilson said.

This past weekend, the Norwell boys and girls competed in the Weston Twilight Invitational. Hartford took seventh in the 400-meter hurdles in 58.99 seconds. Ed Masterson finished 10th in the 400 meters with a time of 52.11. Ames placed 17th in 53.06. Petit came in 28th (54.42).

O’Driscoll finished 28th in a field of 57 runners in the 800 with a time of 2:04.47. The 4x400 relay team of Ames, Petit, Masterson, and Hartford placed fifth in 3:36.36.

For the girls, Lexa Grasz placed third in the steeplechase (8:45.30), Danielle Griffin finished second in the long jump (15 feet, 11 inches), fourth in the 800 (2:21.69), and11th in the triple jump (32-03).

Emily Senatore placed third in the discus with a throw of 102-0, outdistancing the next closest competitor by nearly five feet. Senatore also finished 20th in the javelin (82-09).

Lauren Humphreys came in 19th in the 800 (2:32.32), and Grasz ran a time of 2:41.97 in the 800. Brianna Wooten ran a 1:07.38 in the 400.

The Norwell girls also competed Saturday in the MSTCA Freshman/Sophomore Meet in Abington. In the 400, Tessa Holleran came in 10th (1:05.26), and MacKenzie Boyd placed 14th (1:06.47). Carina DeBella finished 13th in the mile (5:53.92). Ellen Marchetti came in 28th in the mile in 6:17.39.

In the long jump, Holleran placed 12th (14-02), Olivia Degnan finished 16th (13-06), and Jackie Greene came in 19th (13-00.50).

Both the boys and girls get back to dual-meet action Thursday afternoon, taking on the Carver Crusaders. A win by the girls all but wraps up the South Shore League title as both teams enter the meet undefeated. The Norwell girls, who beat East Bridgewater Monday, have one more league meet, taking on Rockland next week.

Track notes:

The South Shore Principals Meet, typically held at Norwell High School, has been moved to Pembroke High School due to the ongoing renovation project at Norwell High. The meet will take place May 24, starting a 4 p.m.

Other information regarding the meet, according to Mass Mile Split, states that: “the meet will now offer a Pole Vault for boys and girls. Meet management will remain the same. The meet is open to all MIAA schools. The meet offers a last chance to qualify before the MIAA deadline. The meet features a Freshman 100M, 400 Meters, and 1 Mile run. Entry deadline is May 22 on Direct Athletics. The Meet will be back in Norwell for 2015, under the lights with pole vault.”

For more information about the meet, send an email to Norwellxc@aol.com.